Darcey Bussell

“I was pretty rubbish when I first started dancing. I didn't understand the discipline of working on one step over and over again. If you look at it from the outside, you'd think, 'Why would anybody want to do that?' But you just want to get it perfect. It is that constant inner striving that you fall in love with.”

“I suppose you could say there is an in-built stubbornness to me.”

“Even after having children, after five months I was dancing again, which was kind of crazy.”

“A teacher's not going to bother being tough on you for no reason; it's when they're not paying you attention that you should worry.”

“Diets don't come into it. You need variety and to have a good source of greens, protein, and nutrition. It is about health rather than looking right.”

“Fonteyn was our first proper British ballerina, and from the moment I started dancing, her image engulfed me. In my first year at the Royal Ballet School, Margot's statue was outside my dormitory. Like generations of budding ballet dancers before me, I used to touch her middle finger for luck.”

“You tend to regret the things you haven't done.”

“Before a show, I usually give myself two-and-a-half hours to get ready. I prepare my shoes first. New ballet pumps can sound like tap shoes. You have to take the noise out of them by hitting them against stone. It takes half an hour to do each pair, and I can go through three pairs in one night.”

“I need to have dark chocolate in the cupboard - Green & Black's is good, but any will do.”

“If I start something, I have to finish it. I know that's annoying - it drives my husband mad - but even if something's not going my way, I have to see it through.”

“For every dancer, no matter how amazing your career, there's more to life than ballet. Being adored by your audience, it's only part of the story.”

“When I coach dancers, I always like to get on the dance floor with them or describe something by showing them.”

“I love Australia; it's such an outdoor life.”

“Life is short, so go for things you enjoy.”

“In the dance world, it has to be in your genetic make-up - your body has to suit the training.”

“The best thing is to lie in a warm Epsom salts bath for 15 minutes and then go straight to bed. You will sleep really well afterwards.”

“The hardest thing about 'Strictly' is having to sit still for so long; it just about kills me.”

“I am damn good with money.”

“Being a full-time mother is one of the biggest jobs in the world; it's like another career for me. I love every moment of it - even the challenge of making cupcakes.”

“As long as everything is happy at home, I can be totally selfish at work.”